The Easter Egg Hunt
by StruckkByColfer
Summary: Cassandra never had a traditional Easter experience as a child. Jake sets out to change that. Jake/Cassandra fluff, and a little bit of OT3 fluff.


**A/N - I know, I'm way behind on updating my other fics. I should be working on those instead of other stories, but after weeks of writer's block, this little story worked itself out in my head so I wrote it instead to help me get my brain flowing again. I know I'm cutting it close, Easter weekend being pretty much over now, but better late than never. **

**Special thanks goes out to shyvioletgirl who suggested I write a series of "firsts" for Cassandra, since she missed out on so much during her childhood. The Easter bunny was entirely her idea, as well.**

* * *

Jake couldn't help but smile when he walked into the annex that morning. He should have seen this coming. It was Good Friday, of course Cassandra would have the place decorated for the holiday. She had hung pastel coloured streamers along the ceiling as well as on the banister, and had hung a giant "Happy Easter" banner along one of the walls.

"Your handy work, I assume?" Jake asked his fellow Librarian in Training as he took a seat across from her at their workspace. "It looks nice."

"Thanks, Jake," Cassandra beamed at him. "I just love Easter. It's one of my favourite holidays. After Christmas, of course."

"Of course. It was always a fun time as a kid," Jake started to say, fondly remembering the memories he had of hunting for eggs with his siblings before he remembered who he was talking to. "I suppose your family had their own kind of traditions, though?"

Cassandra nodded slowly and Jake was pretty sure he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Easter was a time for family at my house. Most of the year it would just be my parents and I, but every Easter I would get to see my aunt and uncle, cousins, and grandparents and we'd have a big Easter dinner together. I hardly ever got to see them. It was one day out of the year that I didn't feel so lonely."

"That sounds nice."

"It was," Cassandra agreed. "I feel like this year is going to be even better, though."

Jake was about to ask the redhead what she meant by that but he never got the chance. Just as she finished talking, Jenkins strolled into the room and Cassandra leapt out of her chair and ran to him with a level of enthusiasm that only Cassandra could muster up.

"Jenkins! Jenkins, I have something very important to ask you!" she practically shouted at the older man. Jenkins closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Miss Cillian, if it were anyone other than you I would ask that you please stop screaming in my ear," Jenkins' tone sounded annoyed, but the smile on his face said otherwise. "But since it's you, I'll let it slide. What can I help you with?"

"Sorry," Cassandra said sheepishly, blushing slightly. "As I was saying, I have something I need to ask you. But you have to promise not to laugh."

"I can assure you, Miss Cillian. Have you ever seen me laugh?"

"Do you remember at Christmas how we -Jake, Ezekiel, and I-" she motioned over to the desk where her coworkers were sitting. "found out that Santa and Mrs. Claus were real?"

"I do, indeed." Jenkins nodded.

"Well that sort of thing, it's really not something that one would expect to exist. Unless of course you know that magic is real," Cassandra continued a little nervously.

"Ah, yes. But as we all know, magic does exist."

"Exactly! So I was wondering if that means that there are other things...holiday things...that maybe seem unbelievable but actually do exist?"

"Cassandra?" Jenkins raised an eyebrow at the young woman, knowing exactly what she wanted to ask but forcing her to say the words aloud.

"Like say for example, the Easter bunny?" Cassandra's voice came out a little higher than Jake assumed she meant for it to, and he couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable and childlike she sounded. Fortunately her back was to him and she didn't seem to notice.

Jenkins smiled at Cassandra. A genuine smile that the team had only ever seen once or twice. "You'll be happy to know, Miss Cillian, that the Easter Bunny does, in fact, exist. In its own way, of course."

Cassandra's squeals of excitement were drowned out by Jake's own outburst.

"Are you kidding me!?" the cowboy shouted in shock and amusement. "A freaking bunny that hides eggs for children to find!? It's real!?"

For his part, having tuned out the majority of the conversation because he was bored, Ezekiel just sat with his mouth wide open, unable to process what he was hearing.

"Well...no. Not in that sense," Jenkins turned to address Stone and had missed Cassandra's expression change from childlike excitement to disappointment. "You know the story of Eostre, the Goddess of Spring? She has a hare as a companion, which over the years got twisted into the Easter Bunny story. The hare symbolizes fertility and rebirth."

Jake scoffed. "Eostre? Isn't that all just a myth? I mean, there's no evidence…" he stopped talking when he noticed the look Jenkins was giving him. "Right, right. Sometimes I forget the world I'm living in these days."

"Well, maybe Eostre needs our help? The Serpent Brotherhood could be after her in an effort to steal Easter? Maybe we should protect her!" Cassandra offered hopefully. Jake raised an eyebrow in her direction, both amused and unnerved at how desperately she seemed to want the Goddess of Spring to be in danger.

"That won't be necessary," Jenkins shook his head. "Unlike Santa, the Goddess doesn't have to do anything special this time of year. In fact, she usually vacations in the Yukon this time of year."

"Well that's ironic," Ezekiel finally spoke up, though no one really paid any mind to him.

"I'm sorry if I disappointed you, Miss Cillian," Jenkins patted her shoulder before continuing on his way before she had stopped him earlier.

"Sorry, Cass," Jake said earnestly when Cassandra returned to her seat.

"It was stupid, anyways," Cassandra didn't meet his eyes, but rather turned her attention to her little notebook. "I just...it was fun. Christmas, I mean. I wanted to get that feeling back."

Jake didn't say anything, but he spent the rest of the day thinking about what Cassandra had said. She was right, Christmas had been fun. Sure, Jake never got to see his family that year. As complicated as things were with his parents, he still loved them, and Christmas was the only time of year he got to see his cousins. But as it turned out, a road trip and bar brawl with Santa followed by an impromptu surprise party for Baird made for the greatest Christmas he had ever experienced. Of course, the highlight for Jake had been seeing Cassandra's face light up when she found out that Santa actually existed. He may not be able to give her a grand adventure for Easter, but it occurred to Jake that he would be able to help Cassandra experience a little bit of Easter magic.

…

Jake spent the next day, Saturday, getting ready. There really wasn't much to plan, but he had some supplies to buy. Later in the day, after he was sure the rest of the Librarians in Training and their Guardian were gone for the night, Jake got everything set up.

When Cassandra arrived to the annex Sunday morning, she was surprised to find an empty basket sitting on her section of the desk.

"What's this?" she asked to no one in particular.

Jake just shrugged. "Looks like an Easter basket. Like the kind my momma gave us kids during the egg hunt every year."

"Egg hunt? You didn't…" Cassandra started to ask as Jake feigned an "I have no idea what you're talking about look" but their conversation was suddenly cut off by Baird shouting from her desk.

"Okay, who put chocolate eggs in my desk drawers?" The LiTs all turned to look at their Guardian, Jones and Cassandra with slightly confused expressions and Jake with a smug look. Suddenly Cassandra put two and two together.

"Oh! I think those go in here!" She ran over to Baird and held the basket out so that the Guardian could drop the eggs in, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Children! I'm working with children," Baird shook her head in disbelief.

"Come on, guys," Cassandra turned her attention to Jake and Ezekiel. "We have a basket to fill!"

Jake followed Cassandra around for the rest of the morning, content to watch her excitedly hunt down the eggs he had hidden the previous evening. Ezekiel was more than happy to help as well, willing to do anything that involved a) chocolate and b) not actual work. Of course, Jake knew where all the eggs were hiding, so he made a point of not actively participating in the hunt, but when his two friends seemed to get stalled he would help direct their attention to the right places.

"Hey, Cassie. Did you try checking that top row of books?" Jake nodded in the direction he knew the eggs were hiding. Cassandra headed over, standing on her tip toes and reaching her hand up, finding a single egg sitting on the top of each book on the shelf. She grinned as she dropped each egg into the basket.

As the basket began to fill, Jake noticed that Ezekiel would sneak a few eggs out when Cassandra wasn't looking and find them new hiding places. The cowboy chuckled as he watched the antics, Cassandra finding the same eggs over and over, never realizing that the basket should have overflowed at the rate they were going.

It was lunch time when things started to wind down and the team realized that all the eggs were found. Cassandra left the basket in the middle of their workspace so that anyone who wanted some chocolate could help themselves. Ezekiel grabbed a handful and then ducked out of the annex, probably off to get himself some pizza or something. Baird had already disappeared, and Jenkins hadn't bothered to show his face that day. Jake had a feeling that the older man knew what was up and decided he just didn't want to deal with their antics that day.

Once they were alone, Cassandra walked over to Jake, wrapping her arms around him in a hug that lasted just a few seconds longer than a normal, friendship hug should.

"Thank you," she said has she finally pulled away.

"For what?" Jake narrowed his eyes, pretending not to know what she was talking about.

"I know this was you," Cassandra gestured to the basket. "Thank you for giving me the Easter I never had."

"It's what you deserve, Cassie," he said genuinely. "Life hasn't always been fair to you, darlin'. Its time someone did somethin' about that."

Cassandra opened her mouth as if to say something, but the words never came to her. Instead she just smiled, her wide, Cassie-like smile, and hugged Jake again. Jake hugged her back, the entire time his mind thinking about what the next holiday on the calendar was, and how he could go about making it special for Cassandra.


End file.
